I HATE THE PROLIFERATION OF SCREENS: To Screen, or Not to Screen? “Last week Matt P. brought you a report showing the chief of design at Mercedes-Benz grumbling about the proliferation of screens in modern automobiles.”

Related: Bring Back Our Knobs.

Not so long ago, if I wanted to adjust the heat in my car, or the volume on my car radio, I could grab a nice, simple knob. Turn it to the right, and the car got warmer, or the radio got louder. Turn it the other way, and the opposite occurred. I could always sense how far I was adjusting things—without ever taking my eyes off the road—because millions of years of evolution have produced a neurological feedback mechanism that lets me know just how much I’m turning my wrist.

Easy, effective, intuitive. That’s simply good design, right? You’d think. But in most late-model cars, making those kinds of adjustments requires pushing buttons multiple times, or navigating menus within menus, and—almost always—taking your eyes off the road.

My thoughts.